How To Floor An Attic Plywood

Attics with existing flooring.

How to floor an attic plywood.

An attic can be floored with 1 2 cdx plywood if it is being used only for storage. If you plan to finish the floor in the attic and turn the room into a living space however you should always use 3 4 inch. To floor an attic you ll need to install a sub floor for support before laying your plywood floor. In that case you will need to use 3 4 thick plywood.

If your attic joists won t bear the weight necessary to finish out a living space but the engineer cleared them to support floor decking for light storage you can install inch plywood or. The thinner plywood is acceptable when the joist spacing is 16 inches. Full the spaces between the frame members with insulation. Another option is to skip the plywood flooring altogether and use dimensional lumber.

Rip 1 2 thick plywood to 24 widths so it will fit up the attic stairs. To make the job easier use a circular saw to cut the plywood sheet first into 2 2 8 strips which will be much easier to handle. First you ll need to measure the area you want to floor so you can calculate how much wood you ll require. Build a frame on 16 centers perpendicular to the attic floor joists.

Alternatively your attic may already have some sort of floor but this doesn t necessarily mean you can build rooms. Carry a piece of plywood to one of the far corners of the attic and lay it on top of the installed boards. Don t use 7 16 osb as it is intended for external sheathing and isn t strong enough to be used as a floor. As an alternative 3 4 osb can be used.

Screw the frame to the joists to secure it in place making sure not to screw into electrical wires. However the same can t be said if you are planning on using the space as a living space. The previous homeowner may have simply covered the joists with plywood to use the space for storage.